1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connection arrangement for electrical connection of an electrical device, especially an electric motor, with a bottom part for holding at least one device-side cable, with a top part for holding at least one connection-side cable and with a contact body for electrical connection of the device-side cable to the connection-side cable, the bottom part and the top part being formed essentially of an electrically insulating material.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connection arrangements of the type under consideration are known and are used for quite different contact-making and connection purposes. From plant construction for example terminal blocks are known which are designed conventionally for top-hat rail installation in a switching cabinet and consist of a bottom part and a top part (Phoenix Contact product catalog, COMBICON® Circuit board connection, 2000/01, pages 198-212). After the lower part of the connection arrangement is locked on, the device-side cable, from which the insulation has been stripped on the end side, is inserted into the bottom part and is electrically connected there to a contact body located in the bottom part by a clamping or screw connection. Connection-side stripped cables are then fastened in or on a contact body made as a push-on terminal strip which is located in the top part. When the top part and the bottom part are moved into the common joined position, at the same time, the contact between the contact body in the top part and the contact body in the bottom part, and thus, a connection between the connection-side and the device-side cable, are produced.
German Patent Application DE 102 32 281 A1 discloses another electrical connection arrangement which, in any case, is tailored to a special application for connecting a cable set to the stator-winding ends of an external-rotor motor. The bottom part of this connection arrangement is intended for mounting on the motor housing, the device-side cable—therefore the motor-side winding ends—being electrically connected to the contact bodies which are located in the bottom part and which are made as insulation piercing contacts; consequently, there is no need for preparatory insulation stripping of the device-side cable ends. The distributed contact bodies extend as far as a plug receiver which is made in the bottom part and into which the top part made as a plug-in terminal strip can be inserted. In the top part, there are, in turn, corresponding contact bodies which can be electrically connected to the connection-side cables. Via plug-in jumpers which can be inserted into the top part, various contact bodies located in the top part can be electrically connected to one another; this is used especially for optional wiring of motor windings into a star or triangle arrangement.
Even if the electrical connection of a device with the above described connection arrangement compared to the first example from the prior art has been simplified as a result of using insulation piercing contacts, the connection process is nevertheless still comparatively complex. In particular, when contact of the device-side cable with the insulation piercing contacts is made, there is the danger of mechanical and electrical damage since, after contact-making of the device-side cable, there is a device-side potential—for example, from a buffer capacitor—on the insulation piercing contacts.